* Q3 fall in trading less than in Q2
* Client wins provide support
* Shares down on cautious outlook
(Adds shares, reaction)
By Kate Holton
LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Client wins with Uber, Alibaba
and HSBC helped the world's biggest advertising company WPP
deliver an improvement in third-quarter underlying
trading, particularly in Britain and the United States.
The British owner of the Ogilvy, Grey and GroupM agencies,
already rebuilding after several years of tech-led turmoil in
the ad industry, is now recovering from the abrupt cancellation
of spending by companies desperate to save cash in the pandemic.
While businesses in consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals
and technology have increased their spending, those in the
automotive and luxury sectors are stabilising, while travel and
leisure industries remain weak.
Overall, underlying net sales fell by 7.6% in the three
months to the end of September, an improvement on the 15.1% drop
in the previous three months, and WPP said it remained on track
to cut costs and hit its downgraded outlook.
"Given the tightening of COVID restrictions around the world
and uncertainty in the global economic outlook, we remain
cautious about the pace of recovery," Chief Executive Mark Read
said on Thursday.
WPP secured $1.6 billion of new business and said late on
Wednesday it had extended its ties with Walgreens Boots
Alliance, one of the biggest pitches of the year.
Citi analysts said the improvement was all the more
impressive because, unlike peers Publicis, Omnicom
and IPG, WPP has a lower exposure to the United
States and has also not benefited from buying assets of late.
Underlying net sales were down by 5.1% in North America,
compared with a 10.2% drop in the second quarter, and down 6.5%
in Britain, after a 23.3% plunge in the previous quarter.
As a result, the company expects to deliver a full-year
result within analyst forecasts of a drop between 8.5% and 10.7%
in like-for-like net sales, with a midpoint of down 9.6%. That
compares with a range midpoint given in August of down 10.75%.
Analysts said the results were ahead of expectations, but
traders said the shares fell to a month low, down 3.5%, on the
cautious outlook.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Sarah Young and Mark
Potter)